What Sire Wants
by JustCallMyName
Summary: Spoilers, watch out! Kinda just forget that anything ever happened between Arthur/Gwen, it's just easier that way! Pretty much all of it is homosexual themes to be honest...Merlin/Arthur pairing. Picks up at the end of the third season or thereabouts.
1. Prologue

Merlin had always been a poor judge of character. He couldn't read people as well as some, mistook the signs and signals launched in his direction. It had happened before with Morgana, who he had chosen to believe was a kindred spirit, of sorts, and moulded her in his imagination as a force of good. He had misread the signs, he knew that now. Must like he had misread the signs Arthur, his Prince and sire, had signposted around him all these years.

Merlin, finally, was about to come to realise how wrong he was about Arthur's distainful glances, (sometimes hurtful) teasing and constant orders for Merlin.

It started in Summer... 


	2. Breakfast

Merlin woke to the end of what sounded like a rant, only catching the words, '-lazy layabout'. He mumbled a few sleep jumbled words back at Gaius, who tutted and left the young wizard's door frame, calling over his shoulder at he walked back to the main room, "Arthur will be none too please to be kept waiting for his breakfast...again..."

Groaning, Merlin dragged his work-worn hands over his face. If he was late by a minute, he was late by an hour in the eyes of Arthur. The dark haired boy took his time in rousing himself, scratching his fingers through messy hair and trying to rub his eyes into wakefulness. He stumbled into drawstring trousers, which he had to tighten around his narrow waist, and fumbled in putting on his overlarge blue shirt. Both items of clothing were about as clean as they could get in this house, though in the palace they looked no better than dishrags.

The porridge Gaius had made him had gone cold long ago, and wasn't all that edible at the best of times. Instead Merlin headed to the palace kitchens to get the Prince his breakfast, which was sure to be hot and delicious no matter what.

Merlin had woken up a bit by the time he got Athur's breakfast from the kitchen (still sizzling sausages, two eggs and a slice of bread with a pot of honey on the side), and proceeded to hurry down the maze-like corridors in the palace, ignoring the eye rolling from the other staff, who were accustomed to seeing Arthur's servant hurrying past, late for whatever tasks Arthur had lined up for him.

He had already prepared his face into a look of embarrassment and appeasement as he hurried into Arthur's large chambers, and saw him waiting impaciently at his breakfast table, "Sire-"

"Merlin! What the hell time do you call this! I have been waiting for my breakfast for more than an hour! You really are-"  
"-useless, incompetent and downright stupid. Lacking of any skills whatsoever and with an IQ a horse would be ashamed of. But look! I brought breakfast...?"

Arthur didn't show any surprise as Merlin finished off his rant for him. He continued his withering gaze as he stood and leaned his hip against the table, "Really, Merlin, I often wonder why I don't just get a new servant boy. One that can, you know, actually serve?"

Merlin averted his gaze as he rolled his eyes, murmuring, "I wish I knew too."  
"-shall I tell you the conclusion I reached then?"

Merlin jumped, making the sausages roll dangerously near the edge of the plate, he didn't mean for Arthur to hear. He took a second then shrugged a yes, assuming that Arthur did indeed want to tell him.

"It's because, Merlin, you're just the kind of person who would submit to anything. You go to such lows that other servants just wont!"  
"Like storing the horse dung in my room for a day just because I forgot to groom your horse one day?"  
"Exactly like that." Arthur smirked, "Among other things..."

Merlin said nothing, hoping that this was the end of his punishment for another delayed breakfast. Without Arthur's command he set the tray in front of Arthur's seat, wondering in the back of his mind why Arthur wasn't still seated.

He started to leave when he heard the ever demanding voice again, "Merlin."

The servant turned slowly, trying to delay whatever was to come, "Sire?"  
"I want you to see what I mean. Why it's so...fun for me to keep you around."

Merlin grimaced, whatever Arthur had in mind was sure to be humiliating. Not cruel, he thought, Arthur was never cruel. Ignorant and demanding, yes. But he never wanted Merlin to suffer in any great amount.

The prince paused a long time before giving his verdict.

"Shirt off."

It was Merlin's turn to stand in silence, trying to digest this. Whatever he was expecting, it very much wasn't this. "Pardon!" His voice came out higher than he would have liked.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Are you deaf as well as lazy? Shirt off Merlin."

The dark haired wizard waited for Arthur to laugh and berrate him for thinking he would request such a thing. But that moment never came. Arthur didn't push, but his eyes stared insistantly, as if he couldn't believe Merlin was doing as he said instantly.

Warily, Merlin began removing his shirt, but as it was a pullover there was hardly anything to busy himself with in order to stall this situation more. He felt his face burning as he removed it, standing awkwardly before the prince, his thin, milky body contrasting with his now bright red face, ringing the blue fabric in his hands. He looked everywhere but at Arthur.

The prince allowed silence before giving his next order. "Ok, lie on the table."

Merlin's eyes immediately flashed upwards to meets Arthur's, wider than he thought possible. He was worried, firstly, about the request and secondly, about the calmness in which the heir said it. He choked out what could vaguely be heard as 'Sire!'

He recieved another eye roll from Arthur, who had crossed his arms now with impatience, on the verge of becoming that stubbourn child he so often was, "Oh for Gods sakes Merlin, you are my servant and I command you!"

Merlin obeyed, though he wasn't completely sure what to. Still holding his shirt he walked to the table, head down and trying to make himself look as small as possible. He hesitated again as he stood next to the table. risking a glance up through his hair at Arthur, checking one last time to see if this was all a huge joke at Merlin's expense. But as Arthur gestured impatiently to the table, Merlin was forced to accept that this was the reality of the situation.

Awkwardly Merlin clambered up onto the table, falling on the first attempt; much to Arthur's amusement as he barked a laugh behind him. As he lay down on the surprisingly cold wood, the boy stared at the ceiling, the burning in his face had not died down and he was wondering and dreading what was to come.

He looked up as he heard Arthur move, and saw the prince fussing with his breakfast tray that lay to the left of Merlin. The blonde drew up his butter knife into Merlin's eyeline, making the boy jump and try to sit up. Sighing loudly Arthur rolled his eyes again at the stupidity of the servant, "Really, Merlin, I'm not going to cut you! ...and if I was going to I have things a lot more effective than a butter knife!"

Despite himself, as Merlin lay back down, he muttered, "Not giving me confidence here..." and was rewarded with another laugh from Arthur.

Merlin only looked up again once he heard a scraping sound. Arthur was gathering honey from the pot onto the knife. Before Merlin had time to ask what he was doing, Arthur swooped, smearing the honey across Merlin's exposed chest. The brunette yelped at the cold knife which brushed against his sensitive skin and shuddered at the sticky consistancy of the honey that was now being layered onto him by Arthur. Merlin lay there on the table squirming as Arthur finished the whole pot, all of its contents now on the chest of the servant boy. Curiosity getting the better of him, Merlin stopped, for a minute, being mortified, and instead wondered what was going through Arthurs mind. Was his plan to send him out like this, to be laughed at as he walked - shirtless and honey-coated - down the halls?

Somehow he doubted it.

Lost in his own mind, Merlin didn't notice until too late that the prince had swiftly mounted the table and now sat straddling him, knees on either side of Merlin's thighs, watching with an amused grin as Merlin looked up at him in confusion, "You see, Merlin, this is your fault really - you've been late with breakfast one too many times!"

Merlin began asking what the prince was doing, but what came out was 'Arthaaaaa-!' as the blonde head of the prince bobbed down and took one long, drawn out lick of the honey off of the serving boy's stomach. After this one lick, the princes face came back into view, grinning and cleaning some residue off of his lips with - Merlin noticed - a small dot of honey on the end of his nose. "The more you squirm the longer this will take. Don't be such a girl Merlin!" and without another word, Arthur resumed his...punishment...?

Try as he might, Merlin couldn't keep still for long. As soon as he became semi-normalised to Arthurs tounge dragging across him, the prince changed tactic. Though he began with long strokes of his tounge, he quickly grew impatient and began dotting little licks lengthways across Merlin's stomache. And when he reached the chest area he began sucking the honey off, in a kiss-like fashion. More than once Merlin felt the prince's teeth scrape through the honey, against his skin. The most 'interesting' experience, however, was when Arthur came to his nipples. When he first latched on to one, Merlin drew in a sharp breath, which in turn pushed the princes mouth harder against his nipple. After lingering slightly longer than he did on the rest of his cleaning of Merlin's body, he gave the nub a small nip, causing Merlin to yelp. Arthur raised his head for the first time since he began; a grin split is face as he laughed at Merlin, honey now smeared all around his lips, chin and cheeks, "Calm yourself down, Merlin, it's nearly over."

The blonde head ducked down again to repeat this treatment to Merlin's other nipple, this time the brunette managed to stiffle his squeek. The layer of honey ended just below the servant's collarbone, which the prince was sure to give an extra long lick to, the full way along the two ridges. Clearing his throat, Arthur sat up, sitting back on Merlin's thighs. "You're clean now...for the most part anyway..." and with no explanation the prince clamboured off of Merlin, sitting at his place at the breakfast table as Merlin lay, breathing harder than he origionally though he was, shirtless, sticky, on the damned breakfast table.

After he didn't move for a while, Arthur cleared his throat, making the boy shoot up into a sitting position. "If you don't mind, Merlin. I would like to get to eating my breakfast now. It's late enough in the day as it is." and without waiting for a reply, Arthur broke the eye contact and began cutting his sausages with the same knife he used on Merlin.

It took Merlin another minute to swing his legs off of the table, dismount, and put his shirt back on. But Arthur didn't look up or stop his eating for a second, even though Merlin's eyes bore into him, asking questions he couldn't form with his mouth.

In the end, Merlin took it as a hopeless case, an unanswered mystery and made to leave, before Arthur spoke, "Merlin?"

The boy whipped around quickly, meeting the prince's gaze, asking for answers.

"I'm going to need some more honey for my bread. Quick now!" 


	3. Peace

_[[[First off, can I just say OHMYGOODNESS! I never actually expected any reveiws, let alone positive ones! Thanks you guys! Any reveiws are much loved, it's given me a little food for thought..._

_...by which I don't mean more honey...though I wouldn't at all mind! _

_Anyway! Enjoy and reveiw s'il vous plait!]]]_

Merlin went home in a daze. Once he had delivered Arthur's honey, the prince had said nothing. It wasn't that Merlin expected a 'thank you'; he had accepted that was never going to happen! But at least a little indication of what that whole...honey business was about, or at least reference it in any sort of way.

He hardly noticed that he had returned to his small house until Gaius bid him hello again, noticing his odd mood.

"Arthur give you any trouble? I wouldn't blame him!"  
"Gaius, I think Arthur is..."

He paused. He was about to say 'I think Arthur is bewitched by magic.' This could easily account for the prince's unusual behaviour. (And to be honest, it seemed magic was always the damn problem.) But three things made him reconsider.

One; he hadn't detected any telltale signs of magic. Usually there was a certain...something in the air. It was something like a scent in the air, paired with a shiver down his spine. However he might not have noticed as his senses were somewhat...preoccupied.  
Two; if he claimed such a thing, Gaius would inevitably want to know why Merlin suspected magic was at play. Which, in turn, meant that he would have to tell Gaius about the whole incident. He and Gaius were close, like father and son, but in no way was their relationship ready for something like this. It made Merlin gag slightly to even consider it.  
Three; and this was the most troubling - what if he wasn't enchanted. What if these actions were of Arthur's own accord.

Fortunately for Merlin, he wasn't allowed to dwell on this last point for too long, Gaius grew impatiant of the boy's long pause and pressed him, "Arthur is...?"

Merlin stuttered over his words, failing himself in concealing this consuming secret, "...is...getting better? He just took his breakfast and...let me leave..." This was a weak lie, even for Merlin. It didn't account for the extra time he was away, nor for why he looked so troubled when he arrived.

Gaius looked skeptical, this was maybe also a lie too unbelieveable. But to his credit, the old man nodded, trying desperately to believe the boy and not understanding what he could have to hide, "Yes...Arthur is growing up...taking responsibility. Good for him, it's about time he matured."

"Oh yes..." Merlin headed to his room, unable to stay with Gaius for the shame he felt, "mature...he's very...mature..."

Merlin composed himself until the moment he sat on his bed. He folded his hands around his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He had faced difficulties before, but none were so...strange! His life was a mix of the supremely ordinary and the ulitmately surreal. But the two always remained so seperate. He was either Merlin, the idiot serving boy OR Merlin, secret saviour, the magical desperado. But this...this was in a grey area inbetween, real life turned surreal. He wasn't ready for it.

Arthur had acted so...ambivilant to the indicent after, as if it was not something that changed the whole dynamic of their relationship. But what if Merlin WAS overreacting? Was this just another thing that Arthur was prepaired to do to humiliate and embarrass Merlin? Did Arthur consider it his right, just as it was to tell Merlin to clean his chambers or hold the target in target practice? Or-

Merlin's head whipped up as Gaius entered his room, knowing he looked like a startled rabbit at the intrusion.

Giving Merlin a second to compose himself, Gaius then told him of the news, "A servant from the palace is here...word from Arthur."

Merlin stood up a little too fast, not inspiring any more confidence in his worried friend,

"...He say's you're to muck out the horses stables...seems you didn't get off so easy after all?"

Merlin stood, astounded and relieved. Usually mucking out the stables was a full-day job, and a job which Arthur chose to stay well away from. He would get peace and quiet to think - save for the occasional protesting horse and drunking soldier who came stumbling in, thinking this was just another tavern.

But still the confusion arose. Just what was Arthur's game...if he was indeed playing one...

A golden sky was falling when Merlin tumbled home, bone-weary and smelling a good deal worse than the stables now did; at least they were clean, fresh straw covering up the old oders.

Merlin heaved a huge sigh of relief when he saw that Gaius, in all his kindness, had already filled a bath of water for the returning labourer before he went out. Gratefully the wizard stripped down, shedding his ratty clothes before taking his first step into the bath. Though as soon as he did, he recoiled out. Stone cold. Of cource Gaius didn't know when he was returning, and assumed he would heat up the bath himself.

It was now that Merlin was thankful Gaius was out, he could heat the bath with magic, which Gaius was always disapproving of; he thought Merlin's magic should only be used for its true purpose; to save Arthur, and not to convenience Merlin. The boy himself however took a different veiw and, murmering, felt as his eyes glowed gold and grin with satisfaction as steam immediately began rising from the water's surface. Merlin eased himself in with a pleased groan, the warn water easing his tired back muscles, sore from the hard days work - which he knew he would never be acknowleged for; when he messed up that it was all eyes on him, but do the job well? You would think he did nothing at all.

He had just closed his eyes to fully relax when a knock came at the front door. Merlin made a noise of agitation. He wasn't allowed one moment of peace today, just to gather his damn thoughts. Hauling himself out of the bath, he padded to the door, leaving wet footprints as he went. Hiding his naked body behind the door he opened it, poking his head out, with drips of water still falling from the mussed up spikes of his dark hair, "Yes!"

It was another message boy from the palace, he looked suitabley started at Merlin's wet head around the door and stammered, "I...uh...Prince Arthur needs you...in his chambers...he seemed impatient..."

Merlin gave the boy a condescending look, "Do you remember a time when Arthur WASN'T impatient?"

The boy, who seemed to have a constantly startled look, thought for a second, then shook his head quickly, as if confessing such a thing would be sure to have him thrown in the dungeons.

Merlin sighed, letting the boy leave. He looked longingly at his bath, which he was never destined to have, threw on another pair of clothes which wasn't as dirty as his recently discarded ones, and made his way to Arthur's chambers.

It was only once he was nearly there that Merlin started to fret. He wanted so badly to pretend the incident never happened...but he also wanted answers...he couldn't have both and he knew it, he was also sure that neither would give him peace of mind.

He knocked before entering, remembering himself being intruded upon without such a luxury. In the middle of the room was Arthur, standing in his armour, looking - as the messenger said - impatient.

"About time Merlin! I was waiti-"  
"How did you get into your armour?"  
"I'm not a _child_ Merlin, I can do some things myself." Merlin noticed three areas on the armour which were twisted the wrong way, improperly settled or put on in the wrong order. He could _not_, ever, 'do it himself') "-Why are you wet!"  
"I was having a bath actually. After being in the stables all day."  
"...since when do YOU have baths?"  
"I would wash my clothes too if I had any damn peace in the day."  
"...Merlin..."

The princes tone now had a hint of warning in it, it was always Merlin to overstep the line in their to-and-fro-ing.

"What is it you need...sire...?"  
"Remove my armour, Merlin, I've already done your job once for you today! You're welcome, by the way."

The help would have been better recieved by Merlin if it did not take him twice as long to remove the amour, as he had to undo all of the prince's mistakes before hand.

The busywork was enough to keep Merlin's mind off of the morning's behaviour, until it was over and he stood facing Arthur's bare chest, still wet from his unfinished bath. Merlin hurried to leave, not wanting to stay longer than he had to.

"Merlin." He stopped dead. He was nearly at the door, nearly free. But he turned around to face Arthur.

"Yes sire?"  
"You wont be late for breakfast again...will you?"

Merlin wanted to turn around and leave, but the smirk on Arthur's face raised his indignancey.

"What was that! This morning. Why did...why..."

Merlin trailed off as Arthur came sauntering - yes, sauntering - closer. The wizard's grey eyes widened as Arthur backed the boy against the door, making it rattle on it's hinges. The princes hands went around the top of Merlin's arms, pinning him in place. He gasped as he felt the moisture of Arthur's breath at his throat. "I just. Wanted you. To know. That I can do with you. Want I want." Each word he accented with a kiss to Merlin's neck, in a line from his collarbone to the sensitive, soft skin behind his ear. He couldn't speak. His breath caught in his throat. With his eyes pressed shut, he felt the hot, wet breath near his mouth, inches away. He felt his lips quiver treatcherously.

And then the breath was gone. The pressure on his arms, his chest. Gone. And when in opened his eyes Arthur had his back to him and was walking to the other end of his room. "That will be all Merlin."

Merlin blinked stupidly, waiting for his brain to get back in check.

He didn't have to wait for Arthur's reminder to leave before he was out the door, shaking where he stood.


	4. Sleep

[[[Hey there again! I'm trilled beyond words that you guys like this!

If you want to help me out, give me some ideas on what to do in the reveiws! I've got some more scenarios all ready for you, but if there's something you want to see, or something you think will fit in well, please do say!]]]

If Merlin was confused before, it was nothing compared to now.

He was thankful that Gaius had not yet returned, so he didn't have to stop himself shaking as he got in the house. His skin prickled with goosebumps as he sat, as he did this morning, on his bed with his head between his hands, trying to compose himself. What did Arthur mean by 'Do Whatever He Wants' with Merlin? He had thought that if he confronted Arthur about it, his intentions would be made clear, but the situation was more murky than ever before.

There was no easy way to go about asking Arthur - the last time he tried didn't end up going so well.

He found it hard to blink. Closing his eyes started a film reel of events on his eyelids, little images of Arthur wouldn't leave his blackened vision. This is why, for the whole night, Merlin rejected sleep.

[[[Sorry this is a weak-ass chapter, but it's Valentines day and I'm SO not in the mood to write about such epic love.]]] 


	5. Bath

_[[[Thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em coming! Though some of them sounded awesome, I don't know if I would be able to use them, some don't really go with the plot I had in mind =]_

_Still, hope you're enjoying this! I know I'm liking writing it!]]]_

Merlin waited for Gaius to call him awake. Though he had not slept, he was in no rush to see Arthur. Still, Gaius was surprised to see Merlin awake before his second or third rousing. He ate Gaius's porridge without complaint and hardly spoke a word before leaving to bring Arthur his breakfast, ignoring Gaius's farewell. The old man sat at the table, worring about the state of the boy who was so like a son to him who, over the past two days seemed to have developed a secret he would not share with his closest confident.

The brunette tried composing himself as he walked with Arthur's breakfast to his room - the lack of honey with todays breakfast put him slightly more at ease.

When he arrived, Arthur was sitting again at his breakfast table, smirking as Merlin entered, "Not late then? Must have been hard for you!" His face fell slightly as Merlin put his breakfast in front of him, without a word, "You look _terrible_, Merlin."

Avoiding the prince's eye, Merlin already started to back up, ready to leave. "Didn't have much sleep..." he mumbled.

Arthur, Merlin saw from the corner of his eye, shrugged as he started on his breakfast, "You had better not slack off today. I need my armour polished, then brought up to me - I have training with the knights today - and a bath drawn for after dinner." He spoke with his mouth partially full. He may be a prince, thought Merlin, but he has the mannors of a tavern drunkard. "And do something about my room, if it's not _too_ much trouble, that is." he was heavily sarcastic. Merlin glanced about the prince's chambers, it seemed he had forgotten to tidy up yesterday...and possibly the day before...

However, as he made to leave, he was surprised that Arthur did not stop him.

After that, the day was like any other in Camelot; Merlin buffed and polished the armour - however shoddily - and dressed Arthur in it before busying himself in cleaning his chambers. It wasn't until Merlin was scrubbing the floor around the breakfast table that he remembered that he had not thought about the 'incidents' all day. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of actually enoying the fact that Arthur overworked him. And so the boy worked solidly cleaning the prince's chambers (cleaning the breakfast table less thoroughly than he ought to, in all honesty) until Arthur's return. Merlin had already begun heating the water for the requested bath which, Merlin discovered, the prince sorely needed.

"What _happened_ to you!" The prince's blonde hair, usually styled perfectly (a little vainity he did not often care to brag about) was sticking at all angles and was dusted with dirt, as was his face and armour which - Merlin thought sullenly - would have to be cleaned again soon.

Arthur, however, rolled his eyes, "We're _knights_, Merlin, we have to fight and sometimes we end up on the ground. We can't all hide away inside, hiding ourselves like delicate flowers!"

Merlin's face was crossed with a disbelieving stare. Delicate flower! As if he was holeing himself up inside, being waited upon my servants instead of accumulating a host of splinters in his hands and knees. He shook his head disbelievingly as he helped Arthur out of his armour. Once out, the blonde flexed the muscles that were confined within the heavy metal casing. "Is my bath ready Merlin?"

Merlin, who had yet to put down the armour he had seconds ago taken off of Arthur, tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice when he muttered 'yes sire'.

Still shaking his head, the manservant started filling the bath with measures of the boiling water from over the fire and the cool water until it was a suitable temperature. Straightening up, with the buckets in the nooks of his elbows, he addressed Arthur, "That should be ready fo-OH! Woa-ok..." Merlin blinked blindly around the room, staring anywhere except Arthur who had shed all of his clothes while Merlin's back was turned, instead of waiting for the boy to leave.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur stepped towards the bath, while Merlin backed away to the door. "Don't be such a _girl_, Merlin! It's nothing new to you...unless there's something you're not telling me?"

"No, no, no. Nothing new just...enjoy your bath?" and, quickly, Merlin left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

He stood there, shaking his head. Their interaction was nothing short of normal until Arthur decided to 'go on show'...and there did seem to be a lot to show...

Readying himself to leave, Merlin glanced at the grate at the top of the wall, used to ventilate the rooms, the same sort of grate he had used to spy on the troll whom Uther became infatuated with once. It was then that Merlin got that tingling in his gut, the same sort of feeling he got when he was sure he had to preform magic. The kind of feeling telling him that something had to be done.

Merlin placed his buckets on the ground, slowly, so as not to make any noise. And clamboured up the slightly protruding lower half of the wall so he could see through the gate. Arthur was in the bath and having already splashed water over his face and hair to get the main parts of the dirt out he lay, eyes closed and head leaning back on the edge of the tub, his hair dripping slightly and pushed back from around his face.

The prince stayed still for around a minute, which was the time it took for Merlin to come to his senses and decided that yes, it was a stupid thing to be watching the prince bathe. But just before he began his decent, Arthur's eyes snapped open and looked towards the door Merlin had left. The brunette froze, and to him his breath sounded loud and giveaway. He could only imagine what would happen if the prince caught him...

But Arthur didn't chance to look to the grate and instead closed his eyes again, repositioning himself before leaning his head back again on the edge of the bath. Merlin, relieved, was again about to leave when he saw the soft lapping of the water in the bath. It took him a moment to realise what he was seeing, the small movements of Arthur's upper arm were all that could be seen of the deed, the rest of his arm submerged under the water. Merlin looked to the prince's face, which remained so serene despite what was happening just beneith the surface of the water. It wasn't until the frequencey of the waves increaced that the blonde's eyebrows twitched, setting into a more concentrated line about his still-closed eyes. It was then he started emmitting quiet grunts which Merlin could only barely hear. He saw the prince take in and let out a deep, shuddering breath, which brought his whole chest out of the comfort of the water before sinking back in. As his strokes increased in vigour Arthur's jaw became tensed and his other hand appeared from out of the water to grip the side of the bath, his knuckles white with the pressure. His lips, now slighty open, began to emit soft 'Oh' sounds under his breath as his back began to slowly arch, drawing him out of the water as he craned his neck back further, exposing the skin on his neck. It didn't take long for convulsions to spread through his body, his eyes fluttering open and a silent word shaped with his lips.

Merlin waited until the lapping water subsided and the prince relaxed before he got down and walked away, shamefaced, to his house.


	6. Scarf

[[[Reveiws and that will aleways make me happy =]

...that's all I have to say this time xD

ALSO! That I'm properly itching to write about my favorite pairing together at last! But I, as well as you, must be patient and saintlike xD]]]

Merlin was reunited with his bed, fast becoming the single place he felt safe.

One thing Merlin realised about himself was that he was abnormal. Not just because of his 'gift', however. He had never thought of himself as a sexual being. He knew from the roudy talk down the tavern and that one extra-awkward talk with his mother, that urges such as he witnessed Arthur tending to were normal for boys and men alike. But to Merlin, the one of two times he had tried it, got nothing more than a vague feeling of satisfaction before an overall emptiness. So the look of enjoyment on Arthur's features was alien to him, the term 'sexual pleasure' starting to make some sort of sense in his mind.

But the cause of Merlin's discomfort today was himself. Arthur had not reverted to the way he was the previous day...well, there was the nudity...but that did not involve Merlin in any real way. No. Today Merlin had inflicted the discomfort on himself. He could have left at any point, once he saw that Arthur was having a 'private moment', he could have left. But he stayed, and he watched, until Arthur's happy end. It was the confidence with which Arthur performed that held the serving boy, so unlike his unsure actions when he had tried, many years ago. Merlin had become sure that the stories down the tavern were nothing more than that; simply fairytales the men told to impress each other, each keeping secret that it was not as wonderful as the made it out to be.

Though his mind was full, the exhaustion of the past two days caught up on Merlin, and he found himself asleep and encountering confusing dreams which eluded him the morning after, when Gaius called through that he would be late. Merlin waited the extra few minutes to excuse himself from breakfast before fetching Arthur his. He arrived to a disgruntled Arthur, who was resting is head on one hand while the other drummed fingers on the table, barely acknowleging Merlin as he entered.

"Sorry Sire..."  
"Yes, yes, yes. You really are very useless. Why do I even bother?"

Merlin's heart jumped into his throat, jolting him so that one of Arthur's sausages tumbled to the ground. He started to stammer as dropped the tray in front of Arthur, hurrying to clean up the sausage.

"Really, Merlin! What is wrong with you!"

Merlin decided not to reply, he didn't know how to say that he was reminded all too much about that morning two days ago, these exact words being spoken. And he was given an answer. Too thorough an answer.

When Merlin straightened, he nearly dropped the offending sausage again, when he saw the deep blues of Arthur's eyes still staring at him. "You're looking peaky Merlin. Don't tell me you didn't sleep again, you're useless enough as it is."

"I'm fine." The answer came out too quickly and warrented him another distainful glance from the prince.

"I'm not surprised you're not sleeping. You forget that I've searched your house before; I've seen your...I don't know if I could call that a bed."

Merlin, who was wary of the slightest sign of trouble, had already begun to shake his head. But the prince continued.

"Seeing as you've not been doing any work today, and aren't covered in God-knows-what as usual, you could rest in my bed for a while - seeing as you would be useless without sleep."

"I-I-I don't...no...I can't..." Merlin was now backing away towards the door, seeing no way he could refuse politely. His grey eyes darted from the bed to the bath, which still lurked at one side of the room, waiting to be emptied. But in the time he had taken his eyes off of Arthur, the blonde was on his feet and had gained on Merlin, placing a hand on one side of the boys chest.

"I don't think you understand, Merlin. This is a privilage to be asked, don't be ungrateful now." he had begun pushing Merlin quite forcefully towards the bed. And sooner than he could think, Merlin's legs buckled as the back of his knees colided with the corner of the white-covered bed, sending him toppling backwards, lying with his legs half dangling off of the bed.

"Better..." Arthur, seemingly not satisfied, followed Merlin down, climbing slowly so that he straddled the - now terrified - boy. He sunk down so that his elbows and forearms framed his manservant's head, and one leg cocked more than the other, so their crotches hovered centimetres apart. "Is this bed not softer than yours? Was I not right?"

Merlin couldn't nod in agreement, but that seemed t be alright with Arthur, who had seemingly given up all pretence of Merlin sleeping as e gegan removing the crunette's neckscarf with the deft fingers of one hand, while using the other to scoop up Merlin#s wrists. The slender boy's breathing increaced rapidly as Arthur bound his hands in a loose knot with the scarf and raised them above Merlins head, holding them firmly in place with a sword-colloused hand. The prince spent a minute looking down at Merlin, benieth him at his mercy, a half smile on his face, before he swooped down to Merlin's exposed neck, appearing to pick up where he left off on that first day. And, like ten, Merlin's breath stuttered in his throat, throwing his whole body upwards in feeble retaliation, only succeeding in making a slight contact with Arthur's crotch - which e realised was half-erect above him. The pressure on his wrists varied in time with the prince's hot kisses down his neck and reaching his collarbone, a trail of moisture being left behind in his wake. He heard the prince gasp for breath and responded in turn when Arthur's free hand snaked up his shirt, smoothing over the sides of his pale, thin torso, surprisingly softly. he prince had moved on to nipping at Merlin's skin; he felt it redden as it was assulted by the oyalie's teeth, tracing their way back up towards Merlin's ear, before taking the engorged lobe into his mouth, sucking it gently and forcing a small 'ah' for Merlin's lips. Once the prince had his fill of Merlin's ear, he slowly kissed his way across the edge of the boy's sharp, angular cheekbone, while his and continued to work up and down the side of his body, the rough thumb every so often grazing over a pink-tinged nipple. Merlin was not even aware that his eyes were closed until the movement on top of him stopped, and he could only feel warm, wet breath on top of his lips again. But this time it did not move away. The brunette tentatively cracked open his eyes, to see Arthur staring at the perfect bow of Melrin's top lip. Then slowly, haltingly, Arthur's lips shortened the distance between them...

"No." Merlin started. He wasnt fully aware that he had said this. But once he had he gained momentum. "No, no, no, no, no!" he wormed one hand out of the loose bonds he was tied in as Arthur's grip had long since been relinquished. The serving boy began pushing himself backwards until he was out from under the prince, rushing in a haze to get off of the bed and to the door, muttering the word 'no' over and over under his breath as he did, refusing to look at Arthur, or up for the floor at all, until he was in the hallway, shuddering and blinking angry tears from her rock-grey eyes. 


	7. Gwen

[[Hi guys! I'm SO sorry this has taken so long! I've had a lot to do and mental writers' block! Thanks for all the encouraging comments! I'm glad you like it! Just wondering, do you guys want this to have some depth or are you wanting to keep it smut aplenty? xD I mean, of course if it goes deeper than that, it's going to have similar sort of – ahem – interests in mind…anyway, thoughts?

Also! I'm sorry for all the spelling errors in the last one (or any other I might have missed!) I must have not checked it over! I know that, for me, atrocious spelling ruins it for me…so I am deeply sorry and wont let it happen again!]]

Merlin could not face going back home, where Gaius would surely be waiting for him, full of questions Merlin certainly did not want to answer.

Instead he sat in a back alley adjacent to the castle, where the hurrying people squabbling over prices of food and bickering about gods-know-what, so the agitated servant worrying red scratches into his wrist with unsettles hands went unnoticed. He looked much like one of the many homeless men of Camelot's streets; looking rough after his sleepless nights, twitching his fingers up and down his wrists, muttering delusional ramblings beneath his breath, and fixedly staring at the subtle bruises forming on his wrists.

He was in a horrific state, unsure exactly about what had happened, but still in the moment slightly, as he saw flashes of the incident when he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if the inability to get his thoughts straight was induced by the incident itself or the sleeplessness, but neither was likely to have helped his state.

"Merlin?"

The brunettes head jerked up with a gulp of breath, only to see a shocked Gwen looking down at him with a wary face, "Merlin? Are you…alright?"

He must have looked terrible, Gwen never mixed her words, she would never have asked such an obvious question if Merlin had not looked…deranged…

Merlin began to nod his head, but the action seemed to escape his control and he ended up violently shaking his head no and blinking an awful lot to be normal. This did not ease Gwen's worries. "Is there…anything I can do to help…? I could get Gaius? Are you feeling ill?"

Merlin shuddered at Gaius' name and shook his head; he definitely did not want him to know what the matter was. Just then he looked up at Gwen's worried face. She was a servant to a royal like him, surely if there was anyone that would know about the oddness of the ruling class, it would be her. He stood up, too suddenly apparently as Gwen took a step back, a frightened tinge to her eyes. He paused for a moment, letting her regain herself, before beginning to ask one of the most difficult questions of his life, "You know that…have you…has Morgana…ever asked you…or made you do…anything…weird?"

Whatever Gwen was expecting, it wasn't this. "Weird…?" she still seemed determined to keep back from Merlin, he was obviously not seeming any more sane.

"Yes, weird…or…told you to do something more…personal?" he gulped, willing her to understand. Or better yet, say that she too hand experienced advances from the person to whom she served, to put him mind at rest that this was something normal.

Gwen blinked, now unsure where to look. She took a cautious step forward and whispered a 'yes…'

Merlin's face brightened, finally finding some sort of reassurance that he was not alone. Maybe he hadn't understood the…duties of a servant boy completely? He questioned the obviously uncomfortable Gwen further, "What? I mean…what has she asked you to do?"

Gwen looked taken aback at being asked for more information. She swallowed and looked at Merlin in the eyes, trying to inspire confidence in him, "You mustn't tell anyone?" Merlin nodded fervently, "But…Morgana…she asked me, one day, to…" Gwen flushed scarlet, now whispering, "come to dinner at my house." Gwen stepped back slightly, looking shocked that she had mentioned it.

Merlin was frozen, the smile dropped from his face. He was sure he had misheard. "What!"

"I know! I know!" Gwen flapped her hands, "I mean, she saw my house! We're close, yes, but I'm still just her serving girl! I shouldn't have accepted, she's a lady! She shouldn't have to stay in the houses of servants…If the king knew! It doesn't bear thinking about it! She _ate _with me as well, my food which wouldn't be priced at one tenth of the price of the meals she is used to!" the girl was flustered now and obviously distressed, but Merlin didn't notice it in the slightest, he had stopped listening to her.

The most scandalous thing Morgana had ever asked her to do…was to eat at her house! Now, Merlin had replaced his worry with misplaced anger towards the serving girl. She had him believe that he was not alone, that his plight was a shared one. But no. He was alone in his situation with Arthur doing…whatever he was doing!

"Merlin? Merlin? Oh please don't tell Uther! Not even Arthur! Not even Gaius! Please? Merlin…?"

Merlin was tired of being around people again, he wanted to stalk back into solitude, left to straighten out his thoughts. "Yes, fine, yes. I'll…stay quiet." He cast the words over his shoulder as he walked off, back to his home, leaving a confused and startled Gwen to get herself together and leave to see Morgana, in the confusion forgetting to ask Merlin what exactly it was that Arthur was asking him to do…


End file.
